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London, August 30s In the Heligoland fight, when ftbe British destroyers went to rescue 4be wounded, they found the decks of; ;the German ships lined with bodies. In many cases the wounded had* ibufc bleeding stumps left of their arras. In another case the legs were hanging iby a mere thread. One sailor, fon oenly a waiter in a London hotel, had fcb& side of his face partially blown away. He fiercely denounced the KaJaer'a infamous war.

The victory ig even more splendid *i than the official report indicates. ■

A concensus of the survivors' nar : ratives shows that the battle is , .; characterised as exhibiting magnificent dash, nnd the boldest 'daring oni the part of our destroyers,, which weraii

fairly near the German ships before they were discovered and fired upon. The forts joined in the cannonade, and the destroyers were soon hotly j engaged . They gradually drew the enemy towards the open sea. The German cruisers were reinforced by smaller croft. One account states that the enemy's gunners made little better practice from the . forts than from the ships. The shells from land d.id, the most damage, although they were fired too high. When the German cruisers opened fire they had a position of great advantage, inasmuch as our battle-cruisers and light cruisers had not yet appeared, though they were : steaming up fast. Tb.3 destroyers for some time bore the brunt of the fight, aided by their two scout; cruisers leaders. The damage they received showed that the struggle was very grim. The destroyers attacked the enemy incessantly until the heavy warships were brought to theh , aid. The Admiralty announces that the British losses amounted to 2 officers and 39 men killed, 19 men severely wounded and 1 officer and 18 men slightly wounded. Two ofpour destroyers, with mag nificenfc pluck, ran between two German cruisers and greatly harassed them. The result was that the Germans were afraid to fire, or they fired hesitatingly, fearing to hit each other. Four destroyers battered the German cruisers so much that one was sinking, and a battleship approached aud finished her, ■ One British cruiser, while stiffly engaging the German cruisers, was hit nineteen times. Some of the holes were just on the waterline, and have since been plugged with wood, otherwise she is not seriously damaged. A. shell caught her aft, pierced her armour and passed through the ahirv

The Mainz began to sink at the stern, then the bow rose high, out of | the water, and she suddenly vanished. A GERMAN VERSION. Copenhagen, Aug. 30 A German semi official statement ! t ias been issued. Several small Brit ish cruisorg and nearly forty fcorpedoers appeared in the bay to the northwest lof Heligoland. There was desperate isolated fighting between them and our light forces. Small German cruisers went in a westerly direction, and came in contact with several strong cruisers. The German cruiser Ariadne was hit with shots from two of the Lion class and sank after a glorious fight. The majority of the crew of 250 men were sayed, A torpedoer was bombarded by a small cruiser and ten torpedoers, and sank after firing to the last moment The commander of the squadron was killed. The small cruisers Koein and Mainz are missing, and according to English accounts, sank after a fight with a superior force. The officers and 91 men were apparently saved by Britishers. SAMOA SEIZED. Wellington, Aug. 31 The Premier intimates that his Ex 'cellency the Governor received infor masion this morning that Apia sur ~ rendered to the Royal navy at 10 a.m on Saturday morning. The New Zea i land expeditionary force landed unop posed in the afternoon from the trans ports Monowai and Moeraki. London, Aug. 30 It is officially announced that the British were engaged in a desperate battle against tremendous odds on . Wednesday, from which they extricated themselves in good order. Their ; loase3 were 6000 They have since been reinforced. Official messages declare that the British are occupying a strong line ! supported by the French army on both ! flanks. ! NEW FRENCH FOROES. \ Paris, August 30. With a view to meeting the enemy's ' attempt to drive a wedge between the 1 British and the coast, a new French ■ army has been formed to take the j offensive against the Germans. ; A German aeroplane, at a height of 6000 feet, dropped bombs in the

city on Sunday afternoon, but did not do any damage. THE RETREAT FROM MONS London, August 80. The 'Times' correspondent at Amiens says that the British action at Mons on the 23rd wag terrible. A whole division was flung into the fight after a long march without time to entrench. French supports were ex pected on the immediate right, but did not arrive. Further eastwards in the angle between the Sambre and the Meuse, the French retired after a day long fight. Namur fell, and General Joffre was compelled to withdraw the whole line. The Germans did nofc give the retreating army a moment's rest. The pursuit was relentless and unresisting , , and was assisted by aeroplanes, a Zeppelin and army motors. The cavalry looked like arrows from a bow, and harassed the retiring columns. The British retired through Bava lone, the line Valenoiennes to Mau beuge, then through'Lequesney, where a desperate fighfc occurred. Falling back southwards continually the army fought desperately with many stands, but was forced ever back by massed numbers: The enemy were prepared to lose three or four men for every British life taken. In scatteed units with the enemy ever on the beels of the Fourth Division, ail that was left of 20,000 troops withdrew south wards. Our losses were very heavy.

PREPARATIONS IN PARIS. Paris, August 80. It is officially announced that the military governor has ordered all

re'-idi-n , * within ih, j zhih of city I d> fending fort* to pvficunte anrl rie stroy their houses within four days.

RUSSIAN YIOTORY

REGIMENT ANNIHILATED

St Petsrsburg, Aug 30 ' A general baule is in progress in the southern districts of Lublin and Keboltn. A magnificent Russian bayonet charge practically annihilated the 11th Hanover Regiment.

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